STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: Director General of Police (DGP), Jammu and Kashmir, S.P Vaid on Wednesday said that Pakistan ISI was trying to instigate and provoke innocent young boys to come out of houses and reach the site of exchange of fire.
The assertion by the police chief comes in the wake of three deaths of stone pelters who were trying to hamper anti-militancy operations in a village near Chadoora in central Kashmir.
The incident is being highlighted beyond proportion by main stream parties PDP and NC which are locked in crucial by polls to Srinagar and Anantnag Parliamentary constituencies.
Giving a brief to the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh , the DGP said that there are also recorded messages indicating that as soon as an encounter begins, the Pakistan propaganda mill immediately gets into action.
Dr Jitendra said, it is the responsibility of both the administration as well as the civil society to make the youth of Kashmir understand the reality instead of getting instigated by a handful of Kashmir-centric politicians who have lodged their own children in safe havens in India’s best metros and abroad, and are also seeking civil services jobs in the government for them. Time has come, he said, for that the common youth of Kashmir should demand that if this so – called Jihad is so holy and great, then each of the separatist or Kashmir-centric leader should set an example by sending their own children to pelt stones and to stand in the line of fire during the counter militancy operations.
Lauding the role of security forces including the army, para-military and Jammu and Kashmir Police, Dr Jitendra said, we have among the best forces in the world and the nation is eternally indebted to them. Therefore, he said, none of us should say or do anything which tends to lower the morale of the forces.
Describing the stone pelting as “mercenary” stone pelting, Dr Jitendra lambasted the so-called Kashmir leaders who are sponsored by Pakistan and are separatists only by convenience.
Denouncing the remarks of a former Chief Minister who is contesting Lok Sabha by-election and using separatist rhetoric, Dr Jitendra took a dig saying, “if he becomes a minister tomorrow, he will overnight turn a nationalist”.
‘104 local youths joined militancy in J&K since 2016’
New Delhi: As many as 104 local youths of Jammu and Kashmir have joined the militancy since 2016 and 65 of them are currently active there, Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said among the 104 local youths in Jammu and Kashmir who have joined the militancy in 2016-17, 12 were killed by security forces, 25 were arrested while two have surrendered.
Ahir said the state government has reported that during the counter-insurgency operations, 18 incidents of stone pelting were reported during the last two years.
He said that there were 371 incidents of attempts to infiltrate in Jammu and Kashmir from across the border in 2016 of which 119 were successful.
While 217 militants have returned, 35 were killed and three were arrested last year, he said.
Replying to another question, the Minister said Jammu and Kashmir has been affected by terror violence which is sponsored and supported from across the border.
“The levels of terrorist violence in the hinterland of Jammu and Kashmir are linked to the infiltration from across the border. The activities of separatist and militant outfits also remain a challenge in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
NC demands judicial probe
Srinagar: Opposition National Conference on Wednesday demanded a judicial probe into the killing of three youths in security forces firing near an encounter site in Budgam district of central Kashmir on Tuesday.
“We demand judicial the probe into the gruesome killing of innocent civilians at Durbugh village of Chadoora on Tuesday,” National Conference General Secretary Ali Mohammed Sagar said, while addressing workers at party headquarters here.
The youths were killed when security forces opened fire to chase away protesters who tried to disrupt an anti-militancy operation. A militant was also killed.
Describing the killing of the youths as a “blot on the democracy”, Sagar alleged that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has let loose “unabated reign of terror and repression” against the people in its pursuit to remain in “good books of the masters in Delhi”.
“The present coalition government is trampling human rights violations day in and day out,” the former minister said.
He said the independent probe, preferably by a sitting or retired High Court Judge, will unravel the amount of “excessive force” used against the civilians that resulted in the “worst type of blood bath”.
Sagar accused the PDP and BJP of giving “long rope” to the forces as a result of which they have taken overall control of the “administration” and the government has just become “puppet in their hands”.
